Corruption Currents: Three Former Telia Execs Charged in Sweden

A flag flutters at the Telia telecommunication company headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, on May 5, 2017.
Photo:
Reuters/Ints Kalnins

A daily roundup of corruption news from across the Web. We also provide a daily roundup of important risk & compliance stories via our daily newsletter, The Morning Risk Report, which readers can sign up for here. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk.

Bribery:

Prosecutors in Sweden filed charges against three former executives at telecommunications firm Telia Co., including the former chief executive, one day after the company agreed to pay nearly $1 billion to settle a U.S. bribery investigation into its dealings in Uzbekistan. All three executives deny the allegations. (Local, Reuters, RFE/RL)

A South African politician is asking the U.K. Serious Fraud Office to investigate management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. after South Africa’s minister for public enterprises instructed the country’s state-owned electric company to sue McKinsey over a disputed contract. McKinsey said in July it was reviewing documents related to the matter. (Fin24, Bloomberg)

A lobbyist in Maryland who represents liquor businesses was indicted on federal bribery charges; the man and his attorney don’t appear to have commented. (WaPo)

A report from lawmakers in Austria found no evidence of bribery in the country’s deal to buy fighter jets from Airbus. (Reuters)

Money Laundering:

The attorney general in British Columbia, Canada, wants an independent review of controls on the province’s casinos due to concerns of possible money laundering by high-rolling gamblers from China. (Vancouver Sun)

Authorities in India arrested a businessman on money-laundering charges; it doesn’t appear the man has commented. (ToI, Business Standard)

Cybercrime/Privacy:

It won’t be easy to sue Equifax Inc. over its massive breach. (USA Today)

The breach at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission makes it harder for companies to trust the information they are required to submit to the government will be adequately protected. (Bloomberg)

Can organizations do anything to protect themselves against a nation-state cyberattack? (Computer Weekly)

Sanctions:

Iran President Hassan Rouhani says the country won’t be deterred from developing its ballistic missile program despite threats from President Donald Trump the U.S. will pull out of the nuclear deal. (NYT)

Is there any way to make sanctions against North Korea more effective? China suggests the U.S. shouldn’t proceed with unilateral sanctions against North Korea. (Straits Times, SCMP)

Whistleblowers:

In his speech to the United Nations, U.S. President Donald Trump–who has railed against leakers of government information–said the organization needs to protect whistleblowers. (Global News)

General Anti-Corruption:

Solar City Corp. agreed to pay $29.5 million to settle claims with the U.S. Department of Justice it submitted false claims to a government renewable energy reimbursement program. (release)

What does the KPMG case say about corruption in South Africa? (Quartz)